Westy Michael Jennings at home with the Sydney Roosters in Bondi

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THE Sydney Roosters' headquarters is so intimate you can see the players working out in the gymnasium from reception.

So cramped in a finals week Sonny Bill Williams has to put a step on a delivery boy to get through the foyer.

Despite the club’s reputation for harbouring larger than life characters with outrageous ambition, this is no place for big egos.

Which might explain how three superstars - Williams, James Maloney and Michael Jennings - have combined seamlessly.

At least that is the impression Jennings gives when you ask how a club easily stereotyped, even lampooned, as a haven for opportunistic mercenaries has developed, in just one season, such a remarkable chemistry.

"Just them being so professional and also being so humble and friendly has made my position a lot easier," says Jennings, using a word you don’t often expect to hear about the Roosters.

Humble? Really?

"We all put ourselves on the same level and we all strive to win this GF (grand final)," says Jennings.

"We are all on the same page, there is no ego at this club."

Jennings talks about the Roosters as an insider, but also with the slight detachment of the recent arrival.

Someone who never expected to be in Bondi, but who is very glad he is.

Thus, there is no obvious resentment about the Penrith’s decision to let him go.

Although you can still sense an underlying disappointment when he talks about how he is now unlikely to play first grade with his two brothers who are still with the Panthers.

How he had always imagined he would end his career with the club he supported as a boy growing up in Mt Druitt.

"It was a hardest thing that I've encountered during my career," says Jennings.

"My intentions were never to leave Penrith. I wanted to stay, I wanted to end my career there. I was a westy through and through. But obviously the politics side of things got in the way and I wasn't wanted there."

Football director Phil Gould’s decision to clear Jennings' $600,000 per-season contract from the club’s salary cap might well be vindicated and Jennings has found a happy home.

But, as much in what Jennings does not say about Gould, as what he does, you get the only hint of the player scorned.

"I just leave it alone," he says when asked if he has built any bridges with Gould since leaving Penrith.

"I haven’t spoken to him since I’ve been here."

Which does not mean Jennings takes no responsibility for his departure.

The occasional discipline problems that, together with his out-sized contract and the impression he had not made the most of his natural gifts, encouraged the Panthers to risk allowing a rare talent to walk out the door.

"You learn from your mistakes," says Jennings.

"My mistake obviously when I was at Penrith was taking it for granted. Playing first grade, I was getting comfortable. I wasn't doing the little things that got me there in the first place. I can see all that now, and I can see where I made my mistakes."

The Roosters are getting the benefit of that awakening.

Another reason for Jennings’ contentment is inevitable maturity.

The week before he signed with the Roosters, he moved in with his girlfriend Kirra.

With a stable home base, and the long drives from Rouse Hill in the north-west where he still lives to Moore Park, Jennings jokes "I don’t have time for anything else".

Then there is the influence of coach Trent Robinson, another proud "westy" who impressed Jennings at their very first meeting. Partly because of his honesty and ambition for the club, but also because – in Jennings’ words – "he gets me’".

"He knows I'm from the west, he knows how I was brought up," says Jennings.

"I don’t say much, but I think he can still know what’s going on. He knows where my head is. That’s a good thing."

Right now, Jennings head seems in a very good place.

From the easy smile, and the way he talks thoughtfully and without recrimination, you can see why a man once renowned for meteoric brilliance now inspires another unexpected description. Consistent.

"I can come to games confident I’ve prepared the best I can. Being consistent with everything I do off the field has a major influence on how I play."

The major influence on Jennings’ career have been his parents Antonio and Vialata.

Both were outstanding multi-sport athletes in Tonga.

They still argue about who is responsible for Michael's speed.

"Dad would say 'That's because of me', and Mum would say 'No way, that's because of me'," he says.

But, at a time when the pressure placed on young Polynesian players by their families has proven crushing, Jennings greatest parental gift might not be genetic.

Rather, it is his parent’s unqualified support.

Antonio was a council worker until he suffered a work injury and Vialata was a nurse in a retirement home.

In a tough area, they ran a happy and harmonious home without expecting anything in return.

So, a few years ago, when Jennings handed them the keys to a new house, the feeling of satisfaction was all the greater.

"I look at the way I am now, and I take every day I live and I’m grateful for it," says Jennings.

"To look where I came from as a kid, I had a tough upbringing but I had great parents. They supported me even thought they had no money, they still made the effort to make sure I pursued my career.

"It wasn't the richest house, I was grateful my parents loved me heaps and supported me with everything they had."

Of course, if the Jennings did not want any material reward, their support for their children creates an untold expectation - to make the most of the opportunities provided to get the best from yourself.

When he was at Penrith, Jennings’ parents would drive to every game to watch him play. Even interstate, because they did not like to fly.

They saw their son perform amazing acts of brilliance.

Breathtaking dashes down the left side. Incredible feats of strength and acceleration.

This year, for the first time, they missed a couple of Michael’s games splitting time between three footballing sons. But what they have seen might be Jennings at his best.

A fully functioning part of a team replete with stars all pulling in the one direction.

One entering the finals with an eye firmly on the prize.

"I'm enjoying my footy and enjoying my life off the field," says Jennings.

"Everything that has happened now I am grateful for. It’s all exciting now, it's all new making the finals. It’s where I want to be."